EATON — Henny Penny has been selected by Secretary of State Jon Husted as one of January’s featured businesses for the Ohio Business Profile Program. Beth Hammond, a representative from the Secretary of State’s office, visited the company on Monday, Jan. 22, to present Alex Morgan, Vice-President of Brand, and Jeff Frymier, Director of Corporate Relations, with a certificate highlighting this accomplishment.
The program was conceived to highlight the Buckeye State’s home businesses, those companies which help to make the state excel.
Every month a handful of local companies are featured through a common theme. This month’s theme? “You’re Hired,” highlighting businesses and organizations with workforce development programs.
The four chosen companies are featured on the Secretary of State’s website. It states, “Ohio had another record breaking year for new business starts in 2017. There are many employers around the Buckeye State looking for talent, but are having a difficult time finding the workforce they need to compete and win in a global economy.
“This month, we are featuring a few companies that have great workforce development programs and opportunities. They are not waiting for someone to provide them with talent, they are actively training and developing the skills their employees need in order to be successful.”
Henny Penny was one of four companies recognized for actively training and developing the skills of their employees. Their profile states, “Henny Penny offers a wide range of premium equipment designed for easy operation, low maintenance, and delivering delicious food. They place great value on learning and growing at individual, team, and corporate levels.”
Throughout the years Henny Penny has been dedicated to its employees. In fact, in 2015, owner Steve Cobb sold the company to its employees, bringing Henny Penny into an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Each employee is now part owner and has the opportunity to share in the future success of the company.
The workforce itself is incredibly loyal, as 60 percent have been at the company for over 10 years — nearly 30 percent for more than 20 years. In fact, the company has never laid off a full time manufacturing employee in its history, accoridng to officials.
According to Frymier, Henny Penny’s continued success is due to its dedication to education and progress.
“We are excited to be a part of Secretary Husted’s initiative to recognize employers in Ohio who invest in their employees,” said Frymier. “I believe we were chosen as a company to be highlighted because of the great value we place on learning and growing at the individual, team, and corporate levels. We encourage every employee to be involved in at least 40 hours of training each year.
“We offer a broad curriculum through our state of the art Training Center, including an extensive on-boarding process for new team members, welding certification, press brake operation, safety trainings, and more. We also support professional development with certification programs, industry seminars, and activities relating to specific job skills and leadership. Ultimately we want to help each individual become the best version of themselves possible.”
